My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 61:1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
Psalm 61:2 from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
Psalm 61:3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

It seems no one is sure of when this Psalm was written or even if it was King David. Some suggest this psalm was written during the Babylonian captivity. I tend to look at the psalm from a traditional approach and consider this Psalm to be of David, and the situation he finds himself in is the rebellion of Absalom.

David was on the run, across the river Jordan, and eventually makes it to the city of Mahanaim, where he gathers reinforcements and prepares for the battle of Ephraim, where his son is defeated.

Prior to the battle, David is in the weakest position he has experienced. If this psalm comes from the hand of David, it is at this point where I feel he may have given us his passage. Having crossed the Jordan, he is away from the temple, from his city, from the throne, and essentially running for his life.

He may have felt like he was at the ends of his kingdom, near the extent of his authority, the limits of his national borders, as he travelled away from his capital. When he refers to the end of the earth, the phrase may be translated the ends of the “land” also, and makes better sense, at least in my mind.

As he is on the run, priorities come to his heart, and as his hopes and dreams are seemingly being dashed by his own blood, he calls out to God as was his habit.

Hear my cry. Pay attention to my prayer O Lord. Not only pay attention, but also understand my prayer. This type of boldness of the Psalmist is what I find so refreshing, so challenging. He had been in enough experiences with Almighty God that he could speak to Him in this manner.

I often come to the Lord with a cowering sense of subjugation, a head bowed and a knee bent attitude, which is due His Person, and yet the one who is on the run is looking up to God, standing in front and requesting (demanding?) an audience with the Most Holy.

Is this stance of David one out of pride of association, out of a familiarity of relationship with the Father? David admits his heart is faint. To be faint originally meant to be covered over, or enveloped. He was completely distracted or consumed in heart with the circumstances and out of this weakness looked to the Lord for three requests

Guidance to

David was looking for His Rock, the God who never changes, is solid in His Person and that gushes forth living water when least expected. David sought a higher position, knowing that both in military battles and spiritual safety, being higher is preferred. He was not looking to stay where he was, to wallow in his experience but to seek higher ground, to the Rock who is always higher.

Guidance Away

David sought God in his deepest and weakest experiences. But let us not miss that he seeks a position or place that is higher than him. He is not looking to himself for any direction, and it may be read that he is looking for guidance away from his own wisdom, abilities or strengths.

He is looking for guidance to God away from a dependence on his own, for he knows he is faint, at his end, distracted from his priorities, and without resources.

A Historic Haven

The Refuge, his Strong Tower against his enemy, who turns out to be his own son. How conflicted David must have been, distracted in his decisions and faint of heart. No matter what David looked to accomplish, he would wrestle with his decisions, having contrary desires pulling at him. Restore his kingdom, but loose his son, or loose the kingdom and die a traitor at the hand of his son.

To put it bluntly, David was in the worst of situations and he had no idea what to do. He desperately needed guidance, and he needed to get out of his own headspace, where he found no solution that was acceptable. He needed a place of refuge, and that place of refuge was His God.

It is good to remind ourselves that David is not crying out to God for a first time in this instance. Notice that he refers to God as having been his refuge in times past. His previous trials, though arguably of lighter concerns than the present trial, trained his heart to reach out to the God of Israel. This experience was critical, for now David was drowning in this trial, and he naturally had experience with his God as his refuge, as a strong tower from which he might be protected.

As we go through trials, no matter the size or complexity, run to the Father for your help. Not only will this please the Father, and deepen your dependency on the ever faithful One, but it will prepare you for trials that may be heading your way.

Not matter the trial or temptation, He is the One we need to resort to. He is the One who is our Strong Tower. Don’t refuse the great blessing of God’s guidance and protection as you go about your day today.

---

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Follow Considering the Bible on WordPress.com